The
UNIT 357 Mobile Crane
Machine - Model - Toy
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a feeling that all collectors recognize: Slightly sweaty palms,
shallow breathing and great mental churning as the brain tries to
align the senses and make a final determination as to whether what
is being held in hand is "treasure" or "trash."
When the first
UNIT 357 Mobile Crane rolled out of the Milwaukee factory in 1946
it was heralded as being "Fast, Powerful and Rugged."
With its remarkably modern looking design - including the unique
UNIT "full vision cab" - and the capability to work as
a shovel, hoe, dragline or crane, the UNIT 357 was an ideal machine
for the expanding post-war construction market.
Toy
Trucker & Contractor
Feature article, February 2006 |
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With
a heritage that started in Detroit when William Ford, Henry Ford's
brother, founded the Wilford Shovel Company in the early 1900's, the
design of the UNIT 357 Mobile Crane was based on the company philosophy
of building machines that could be quickly and easily converted to
suit the task at hand. Whether digging, lifting or material handling,
the UNIT 357 was found to be more than capable of its advertised "One
Thousand and One Uses." |
| As the first
of the production UNIT 357 machines were rolling out of the factory
in 1946, Julian Kutz, the head of engineering at the UNIT Crane and
Shovel Corporation redrew the plans for the "357" at 1:16
scale. Using these plans, Kutz took it upon himself to produce 3 hand
built models of the UNIT 357 Mobile Crane to be used for sales presentations
and trade show displays. |
| Although the
details were never recorded, it is safe to assume that Kutz made use
of the facilities at the UNIT factory to create the brass masters
and sand cast aluminum parts for the major components of these functioning
scale models. Again, there is no written record, but it's easy to
imagine Kutz using a small factory lathe to turn the solid aluminum
wheels, brass hoist drums and sheaves to complete his miniature machine.
With hand soldered open lattice booms, opening cab doors, working
rigging, functional steering and a coat of UNIT factory orange paint,
these models played a key role in the sales and marketing program
for the cranes.
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One
of three UNIT 357 Mobile Crane
models made at the UNIT Crane
& Shovel factory - the prototype
for the Doepke UNIT Crane toy.
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When
they had completed their usefulness for "show and tell",
the three models went home with Kutz where they were stored in the
basement. It wasn't until many years later that these models would
come back to light when they were found by a construction collector
looking for information about people who had worked at the UNIT factory. |
Factory
model showing full vision
operator cab and hand built boom.
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Opening cab door, gantry and
draw works on factory model.
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Remarkably,
all 3 of the Kutz models, along with some spare parts and pieces,
the brass masters and his reworked scale drawings, were found intact.
Imagine if they had never been discovered - sitting on the shelf gathering
dust - due to their striking resemblance to the well known and relatively
easy to find toy version of the same machine. |
That toy, first
manufactured by Doepke in 1949, was one of the most popular pressed
steel construction toys ever made. Rugged enough to survive the
rigors of outdoor use and having realistic details like rubber Goodyear
tires that mom would allow inside the house, the $14.95 investment
for a Doepke UNIT Crane toy was money well spent. Operating this
toy with its two functional hand crank hoists, accurate rigging,
stamped steel open lattice boom and a working clamshell bucket (perfect
for excavating the sandbox or a cereal bowl) lead hundreds - if
not thousands - of crane operators to their career paths.
TOP:
Doepke UNIT mobile
crane pressed steel toy.
BOTTOM:
Doepke toy showing
gantry
hand crank hoists and
stamped steel open lattice boom. |
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Doepke
pressed steel toy on the left.
UNIT factory model on the right. |
Although
the Doepke UNIT Crane is a toy, the detailing and proportions are
so close to the three original Kutz factory models that there will
never be an end to the speculation of exactly how the Doepke brothers
and Kutz collaborated in its creation. Whether they have been kept
in the attic since childhood, picked up at collector events or purchased
on eBay, the Doepke UNIT Crane has remained a "must have"
piece for construction collectors. |
In the early
1990's, Classic Construction Models (CCM) created a number of accessory
items for the Doepke UNIT Crane toy including a pressed steel track
assembly and pressed steel boom inserts to extend the reach of the
crane. Drawn from original crane information and inspired by Doepke
toy construction details, these custom accessories were quickly
snapped up by collectors who wanted to add to the value of their
original toy cranes.
Doepke
UNIT crane with
CCM pressed steel crawler
assembly and boom insert.
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The
track mounted equivalent to the UNIT 357, whether used as a crane,
hoe, or shovel, was designated as a UNIT 514. With the release of
the CCM track assemblies, collectors were inspired to create toy machines
of their own, like this scratch built UNIT cable hoe built from an
original Doepke crane cab with a solid steel boom, equalizer and custom
paint job with UNIT factory striping. |
Scratch
built UNIT 514 cable hoe
pressed steel toy with CCM crawlers.
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Doepke
UNIT 1014 truck mount
prototype pressed steel toy.
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And
perhaps, the rarest of the rare UNIT Crane toys is a Doepke factory
prototype of the truck mounted UNIT 1014. No one knows when the decision
was made to develop this toy and then not put it into production,
but as all construction collectors – with the sole exception
of the one who owns this piece – would agree, it is a shame it
did not happen. |
Given all of
its positive attributes, the Doepke toy still presents one insurmountable
challenge to many construction and railroad collectors. At more
than 13 inches long and over 23 inches high at the boom tip, this
toy is out of scale for railroaders and too big for construction
display cabinets that are more suited for models a third its size. |
The answer,
which was recently introduced by CCM, is a hand built, limited edition
all brass scale model of the original toy. Proportioned to fit with
typical die cast construction models and on "O gauge"
layouts, this model is an exact reproduction of the Doepke UNIT
357 Crane toy, modeled at 1:48 proportions from the original machine. |
CCM's all brass 1:48 scale model
of
the Doepke UNIT Crane toy.
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From the rubber
tires and boom tip sheaves to the cable drum brakes and working
outriggers, this model is so true to the original toy that it is
easy to imagine all of the employees at the Doepke factory collectively
scratching their heads and wondering, "Who shrank our toy?"
The UNIT 357
crane has left an enduring legacy as a machine, a sales model, a
toy and once again a scale model. Regardless of what direction your
interest in construction collectibles takes you, it would be a mistake
not to make room for these legendary machine replicas in your collection. |
All
Materials ©
Classic Construction Models
Story and photographs by Jason Diamond
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